Neither. It seems that Laszlo is my child's favorite member of our household. Only fair I guess. Poor dog never gets a moment's peace lately and handles all baby-related disturbances with relative aplomb. Here's to Lah low!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Lah Low
Dave and I made the call last night-Max has uttered his official first word. He's been uttering it for weeks it seems, it just took the dumb parents that long to interpret. Was it "Mama" or "Dada"??!?!?!
Neither. It seems that Laszlo is my child's favorite member of our household. Only fair I guess. Poor dog never gets a moment's peace lately and handles all baby-related disturbances with relative aplomb. Here's to Lah low!
Neither. It seems that Laszlo is my child's favorite member of our household. Only fair I guess. Poor dog never gets a moment's peace lately and handles all baby-related disturbances with relative aplomb. Here's to Lah low!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Movin' On Up
Max has perfected his crawling and can operate our bedroom door. Behold:
No babies were hurt in the filming of this video. Just frustrated.
No babies were hurt in the filming of this video. Just frustrated.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Mediocre Martha
Most people who know me even a little bit well know I am not exactly a beacon of domesticity. I turn a blind eye to clutter and dust, and vacuum, sweep and mop only when it becomes apparent my child could make a meal out of the things he's finding on the floor. Clothes have been known to remain in the dryer until wrinkles set in. Permanently. Dishes are the bane of my existence. And my husband is a better cook than I. Don't get me wrong, we hardly live in squalor, I'd just rather do oh, about 8 million things with my free moments other than clean. I'm seriously considering finding someone to trade hair services for housecleaning services. That being said, I've had to get my act together somewhat in the cooking department. I can't expect Dave to cook EVERY night. Besides, with Max eating solid food regularly and becoming increasingly adept at feeding himself, I can't exactly serve him nachos and graham crackers dipped in chocolate syrup for lunch (a perfectly acceptable lunch for myself however). So I've checked out the internet, gotten creative and through trial and error have come up with the following successful, baby-friendly, healthy, easy peasy recipes that us adults like too:
Banana French Toast
Just like regular French Toast, but healthier...
1 very ripe banana
half cup plain yogurt (or milk, or kefir, or whatever you're into)
1 egg
dash cinnamon
splash vanilla extract
a pinch of nutmeg and/or ground ginger if you're feeling exotic (I don't believe in this bland food for babies business. I figure if I expose him to spice at this age his palate will be more open to lots of different tastes as he gets older. And except for black pepper-HATED it-he's been pretty cool with strong flavors. I steer clear of the spicy stuff, but garlic, onion, cinnamon etc is fair game.)
Bread
Blend ingredients (except bread, obviously). Heat butter or oil in a pan. Coat both sides of bread slices with blended mixture. Heat on low/med heat in pan until suitably brown on each side. Voila! Super tasty French Toast that doesn't even need syrup cuz the banana gives lots of sweetness.
Meatballs
1 1b lean ground beef (or turkey or chicken etc. We use island-raised beef because we know where it comes from. I really only like to use organic, locally-raised meat thanks to Jamie Oliver's "pink slime" lecture on Food Revolution-Google it. You'll never look at a burger the same way again. Its worth every penny of expense in my opinion.)
3 eggs (you can substitute applesauce for the eggs-makes it a little sweeter and lower in cholesterol if you watch that sort of thing)
half cup shredded zucchini
half cup shredded carrot
or
1 lb frozen chopped spinach, thawed
or any other veggie you can chop or shred within an inch of its life
quarter to 1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal
Mix it all together with fork in a bowl. Roll into inch(ish) balls. Put on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for, oh I don't remember, I have to ask Dave every time I bake something. Bake until you cut one open and it looks done.
And finally, I don't know what to call these...Egg Bake Power Bars? Random Shit From The Refrigerator?
Shredded zucchini, carrot, steamed broccoli chopped fine, spinach, again, whatever veggies you want to use, chopped or shredded.
Cooked wild rice
Quick-cooking oatmeal
Eggs
Shredded cheese (sharp cheddar is my favorite because it gives a lot of flavor with a minimum amount used)
(I have no exact quantities because I just threw things in until it was a semi-solid consistency)
Put your concoction in a greased casserole dish and bake at 375 for 30 minutes-ish. Let cool and cut into squares.
Max ate the hell out of all these things. They were easy to handle and broke apart in his mouth so no scary choking-size pieces to deal with. I felt like the most successful chef in the world watching him gobble. And they are all easy to refrigerate and reheat (or eat cold) for on-the-go meals.
Whew. I feel so accomplished. I'd better go eat some graham crackers and Hershey's syrup on the couch until Max wakes up to feel like myself again.
Banana French Toast
Just like regular French Toast, but healthier...
1 very ripe banana
half cup plain yogurt (or milk, or kefir, or whatever you're into)
1 egg
dash cinnamon
splash vanilla extract
a pinch of nutmeg and/or ground ginger if you're feeling exotic (I don't believe in this bland food for babies business. I figure if I expose him to spice at this age his palate will be more open to lots of different tastes as he gets older. And except for black pepper-HATED it-he's been pretty cool with strong flavors. I steer clear of the spicy stuff, but garlic, onion, cinnamon etc is fair game.)
Bread
Blend ingredients (except bread, obviously). Heat butter or oil in a pan. Coat both sides of bread slices with blended mixture. Heat on low/med heat in pan until suitably brown on each side. Voila! Super tasty French Toast that doesn't even need syrup cuz the banana gives lots of sweetness.
Meatballs
1 1b lean ground beef (or turkey or chicken etc. We use island-raised beef because we know where it comes from. I really only like to use organic, locally-raised meat thanks to Jamie Oliver's "pink slime" lecture on Food Revolution-Google it. You'll never look at a burger the same way again. Its worth every penny of expense in my opinion.)
3 eggs (you can substitute applesauce for the eggs-makes it a little sweeter and lower in cholesterol if you watch that sort of thing)
half cup shredded zucchini
half cup shredded carrot
or
1 lb frozen chopped spinach, thawed
or any other veggie you can chop or shred within an inch of its life
quarter to 1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal
Mix it all together with fork in a bowl. Roll into inch(ish) balls. Put on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for, oh I don't remember, I have to ask Dave every time I bake something. Bake until you cut one open and it looks done.
And finally, I don't know what to call these...Egg Bake Power Bars? Random Shit From The Refrigerator?
Shredded zucchini, carrot, steamed broccoli chopped fine, spinach, again, whatever veggies you want to use, chopped or shredded.
Cooked wild rice
Quick-cooking oatmeal
Eggs
Shredded cheese (sharp cheddar is my favorite because it gives a lot of flavor with a minimum amount used)
(I have no exact quantities because I just threw things in until it was a semi-solid consistency)
Put your concoction in a greased casserole dish and bake at 375 for 30 minutes-ish. Let cool and cut into squares.
Max ate the hell out of all these things. They were easy to handle and broke apart in his mouth so no scary choking-size pieces to deal with. I felt like the most successful chef in the world watching him gobble. And they are all easy to refrigerate and reheat (or eat cold) for on-the-go meals.
Whew. I feel so accomplished. I'd better go eat some graham crackers and Hershey's syrup on the couch until Max wakes up to feel like myself again.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Spaghetti OH!!
One member of the Small family is having a lot of fun with food lately. And by "having fun" I mean "smearing it in one's eyebrows".
And for those of us (me, really) who can't get enough of watching the boy "eat", here's a totally unnecessary video clip. The symbiotic relationship between baby and chihuahua is especially heartwarming, no?
And for those of us (me, really) who can't get enough of watching the boy "eat", here's a totally unnecessary video clip. The symbiotic relationship between baby and chihuahua is especially heartwarming, no?
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Bay Beach
Our recent trip to Green Bay wasn't all hospitals and worrying. We arrived the day before Max's test and spent a wonderful afternoon at Bay Beach. I had never been and wasn't sure what to expect...I couldn't have been more delighted. Bay Beach is an amusement park with a miniature train, carousel, Ferris wheel, wooden rollercoaster (the Zippin Pippin), bumper cars, bumper boats, pony rides (PONY RIDES!! I can't remember the last time I saw pony rides), and myriad other carnival rides. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what makes the place so charming. Its location, in a public park situated on the shore of Lake Michigan? The old-timey feel of the place? The ride tickets for a quarter? The total absence of booths full of crappy toys that entice the most well-behaved children to beg, plead and whine? The 250lb, ponytailed, be-earringed, total stoner dude employed as conductor on the mini train? The history of the Zippin Pippin as Elvis's favorite roller coaster?
Regardless it was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
Regardless it was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
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